


As Time Goes On

by Phoenix_Falls



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/F, Fluff, On Hiatus, Only /sorta/ sure I'm coming back to it, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-05-17 03:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5851786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Falls/pseuds/Phoenix_Falls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slice of life fic. AU Jemily. Emily and JJ's lives as high school sweethearts leading up to their wedding</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Emily _hated_ high school. No, that was a lie. She had begged her mother to get to go to a public high school and somehow had gotten the stalwart Elizabeth Prentiss to cave in, sending her to a public school the next time they moved. Emily loved high school. She loved half-heartedly complaining about the twenty metric tons of homework given out by just Mr. Moyer’s AP Government class alone. She loved that because the private tutors her mother had insisted on and the private schools she went to that she could make a nice chunk of pocket change teaching her peers how to study for and pass the standardized testing. She loved bitching about Principal Strauss and she even loved the questionably textured rectangular pizza on the lunch menu on Wednesdays. 

Emily loved high school; it was high school _parties_ she couldn’t stand. Emily wasn’t an extremely popular girl, but her best friend, Derek Morgan, was a total jock with the stereotypical accouterment of popularity that entailed which meant she was always getting invited to parties. She first made friends with him at the beginning of the year assembly after seeing him reading a worn copy of _Slaughterhouse Five_ and at first, getting invited to parties was novel but after the third one, she decided that was her least favourite part of high school. 

Derek was allowed to pull exactly one ‘because you’re my best friend and I want you to go’ reason a semester for parties though. In general, she’d much rather be at home binge watching Netflix than avoiding getting hit on by boys drunk on mostly water beer but she still somehow found herself at most of the parties Derek invited her to. It wasn’t fair really, Derek got too sneaky. He stopped asking her to go to every party that came up which sounded like a good idea in theory but he’d found a sure fire way to get her to go to most of them and he saved up his freebie for when he really needed it.

The reason Emily was so willing to go to these parties she professed to hate was sat beside her in the tiny, cramped guest bedroom of one of Derek’s football teammates. Jennifer Jareau was sitting so close to her, she was practically in her lap—not that Emily was complaining. JJ was best friends with the object of Derek’s poorly hidden romantic interests—Penelope Garcia—whom he flirted with shamelessly at every available opportunity. That was a big difference between Emily and Derek. Derek had no problem openly flirting with girls that caught his eye while Emily was more awkward, more shy. JJ was a year and a half younger than the rest of the 11th grade class having skipped a grade. She was in several of Emily’s classes and they usually sat next to each other. They tended to gravitate toward each other at parties and in school but Emily had yet to spend time with JJ with just the two of them. JJ had her number from a study group they’d been in together but the fact that the blonde never used it for non-school related things made Emily think that she didn’t want to.

Currently there was a joint being passed around the room and while neither JJ nor Emily smoked with any frequency, they stayed in the room so they didn’t break the flow of rotation. They were huddled close and talking; Emily regaling JJ with stories of the far flung locations she’d lived and JJ giggling along with her. 

“So that was the last time I hung out with the kids from the French Embassy before I moved here.” Emily was saying, delighting in the grin on JJ’s face.

“I’m really glad Penelope dragged me out tonight.” JJ admitted with a shy smile.

“I thought you loved these parties?”

JJ shrugged. “It’s something to do but usually I come for Penelope when she needs support for hitting on Derek all night.”

Emily laughed and shook her head. “That sounds like why I come for Derek.”

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah, those two need to get a clue.”

“You’re telling me.” JJ said with a chuckle, standing up when the room started to be cleared and holding out her hand to help Emily up.

They went to the backyard and promptly lay down in the grass, staring up at the stars. 

“What do you want to do after school?” JJ asked, tilting her head slightly so that she rested on Emily’s shoulder.

Emily shrugged. “I honestly haven’t thought about it. We still have to get through junior and senior year still. I want to go to college, I know that.”

 “Me too. I’m going to major in communications.”

 “You sound so sure of yourself.”

 “I am. I’m going to try to go to school on a soccer scholarship and do communications.”

 “I think I’ll take a year after high school, just wander around for a while.”

 “That sounds nice.”

 “Yeah, I—“ Emily was interrupted by the sliding door to the backyard opening and Penelope’s chipper voice calling out to them.

 “I’m not interrupting anything am I?” she asked hopefully. 

JJ laughed embarrassedly while Emily shook her head confusedly and they both stood up.

 “Good.” Penelope said with a firm nod. “We’re going to play spin the bottle.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Spin the bottle?” JJ asked with a laugh. “Really? What grade are we in?”

“It’s a party staple Jayje and you have to play.” Penelope replied dismissively. 

“I don’t get a choice in the matter do I?” 

“Nope!”

JJ nudged Emily with her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Are you playing?”

Emily opened her mouth to decline when Derek sidled up beside them, his arm around his best friend. “She wouldn’t miss it.”

“I guess I don’t get a choice in the matter either.” Emily grumbled as they made their way to a circle of people already sitting down. The brunette huffed as she sat down, not looking forward to this in the slightest.

“Relax, Princess.” Derek whispered in her ear as he sat down next to her. “Maybe you’ll get to kiss your crush?” He laughed when Emily pushed him away from her and crossed her arms.

The first couple of turns consisted of Emily crossing her fingers and toes that the bottle wouldn’t land on her but then it was JJ’s turn and Emily promptly uncrossed her appendages. Her mouth went dry when JJ glanced over at her with an indecipherable look and Emily hoped that the crush she’d been harbouring for the other girl for the last eight months couldn’t be read on her face. JJ gave the bottle a little push and everyone watched it spin around in a wobbly orbit before slowing down to a crawl, seeming like it was going to stop on Derek.

Beside JJ, Penelope rolled her eyes and nudged the bottle gently with her foot without being caught so that it landed on Emily instead of Derek. The circle erupted into ooo’s and whistles but Emily honestly couldn’t hear any of them, she was too fixated in watching JJ crawl over to her, rising to her knees once she was in front of her.

For JJ’s part, she had been hoping it would land on Emily. She’d had a crush on the other girl ever since she watched her doodle Arabic all over her biology notebook in the first class they shared together. It was hard to get a read on the other girl though and JJ was too hesitant to just ask her out outright. Her full intention was to give Emily a quick peck on the lips. Certainly more than a friendly kiss, but nothing that would give her away. All that went out the window the second her lips touched Emily’s and she felt more than heard the brunette sigh sweetly like she’d been waiting for that moment for a long time. When JJ felt Emily’s tongue run along her bottom lip, everything in the blonde’s brain short circuited and when she regained her senses, she was kissing Emily like she needed to breathe the air in her lungs; Emily’s hand tangled in her hair.

JJ didn’t hear the wolf whistles or register that Penelope and Derek gave each other a high five, but she did distinctly hear the ‘oh my god that’s so hot’ coming from the boy on Emily’s other side which put a damper on the fire that had ignited within her. She slowed their kissing down until she was giving Emily several short pecks and pulled away, grinning proudly at the dazed look on Emily’s face and her kiss swollen lips still parted slightly.

“Okay,” Penelope declared with a clap of her hands. “You don’t have to play anymore now, I got what I wanted.”

JJ laughed and stood up, holding her hand out to Emily who took it and the two made their way over to the mostly empty living room couch.

“That was…wow.” Emily mumbled, still half stupefied.

JJ laughed and flopped down next to Emily, still holding her hand. “Was that, I mean was that okay?”

“More than okay.”

“And if I wanted to do it again?”

“Far be it from me to stop you.”


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the party found JJ and Emily attached at the hip. Whether they were dancing or talking (or kissing), they were always right near each other. Their friends teased them about what a cute couple they made which prompted JJ to tell them to fuck off, playing at being embarrassed—and indeed, within the first hour of their first kiss, JJ has perfected the art of flipping people off without having to tear her lips away from Emily’s or even open her eyes. She just _knows_. JJ is on cloud nine. She’s giddy in a way she’d never been before and it has nothing to do with the contact high that’s already worn off, she’s just genuinely ecstatic to be so close to the object of her affections.

Emily, however, seemed almost shy at times. JJ could tell she was having a good time but there were moments when she was telling a story or talking to someone nearby when she would catch Emily looking at her with an expression that was nothing short of melancholy. There, she’d seen it again from the corner of her eye.

“Are you okay Em?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

JJ tilted her head to the side, studying the brunette who was looking at her with none of the despondency she’d seen on her face. “I mean, is anything wrong?”

Emily smiled beatifically and shook her head. “How could anything be wrong?” she asked, kissing JJ soundly.

“Hey gumdrop!” Penelope bubbled nearby. “Lemme borrow you from your girlfriend for a minute!”

Emily choked on her own saliva while JJ just laughed and kissed Emily’s cheek before getting up to follow Penelope. Derek took JJ’s vacated spot and nudged his friend with his shoulder.

“Check you out Princess.” He teased, putting his arm around her.

Emily groaned and shrugged his arm off. “Don’t get my hopes up.” She grumbled, scowling when Derek looked at her like she was a moron.

“Come on, you guys have been living in each others back pockets the last three hours and I think you’re going for the record for Couple Sucking The Most Face so you can’t tell me that you’re growing a yellow streak now.”

Emily grumbled under her breath and punched Derek in the arm lightly. “Shut-up Morgan.”

“No, I’m serious! What’s up?”

Emily wiped a hand over her face, how was she supposed to explain this to him? Emily didn’t have much experience in the dating world but what she did have was a mess. In her opinion, she could be a little distant and too clingy but she couldn’t find it in herself to be distant with JJ and the blonde seemed thrilled that Emily wanted to hold her hand or sit close to her. In fact, she’d often ended up with a lap full of JJ after they’d kissed. “We’re at a weird age, Derek.”

“Okay?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “It’s weird because we’re just figuring ourselves out right? There’s all this pressure to do or not do things and it’s even harder when you’re a lesbian okay? Like you have to figure out if a girl is just experimenting or if they’d ever want to actually be with you you know?” she sighed heavily.

Derek shrugged. “Would a friend with benefits arrangement be so terrible, Princess?”

He held up his hands defensively when Emily shot him a black look. “That’s the worst part, Derek.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve known JJ is bisexual so I don’t think she’s experimenting but what I feel…it’s all kind of intense and I don’t want to scare her off but I also don’t know if this means anything to her. I’m the only out lesbian at school, I could be convenient. Tomorrow things might not mean what I want them to mean. Or worse, they’ll mean nothing. I should have gone with my gut and not played that stupid game. At least when I just had my unrequited crush, I didn’t know how good I could have it and now everything is all,” she circled her hands around each other as if trying to find the right word. “Fucked up.” Emily’d had it bad ever since that first day when JJ’s clumsy monolingual tongue tried to wrap itself around the Arabic words in her notebook (she was much better at the French bubbled all over Emily’s statistics notebook).

Derek watched as Emily dropped her head into her hands and he leaned back against the couch trying to think of something supportive to say. He’d seen Emily through some crushes before but those seemed almost laughable in comparison. He’d never heard Emily talk like that about someone before. He tilted his head back and noticed JJ and Penelope standing just behind the couch and judging from the looks on their faces, they’d heard everything. Penelope had that look on her face that she got when watching _Titanic_ and JJ was grinning widely with a dreamy look on her face. Derek tilted his head towards Emily who was still rubbing her temples and JJ shook her head, letting him know that she didn’t want him to tell Emily they’d been back there.

Derek cleared his throat and pat Emily comfortingly on the back. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about Princess. Maybe you should just lay it all out there and see what happens.”

Emily rolled her eyes and looked over at him. “Hell no. I’d rather be a part time fling than nothing at all.”

Derek smirked but instead of addressing what Emily had said he turned in his seat and pretended like he’d just spotted JJ and Penelope coming around. “Look who’s back.”

JJ came around the side of the couch and promptly planted herself firmly in Emily’s lap, looping her arms around the brunette’s neck. “Hi.” JJ said with a smile and if she hadn’t just heard Emily say all that she would have never known there was really something heavy on the brunette’s mind because she smiled at her and kissed the tip of her nose like nothing was wrong.

“Hi.” Emily replied, not noticing Penelope beckon Derek over to talk in hushed tones. JJ’s expression softened into something Emily couldn’t decipher but it made her want to kiss the blonde senseless, so she did.


	4. Chapter 4

JJ and Emily had migrated back to the backyard where they sat on a swinging bench just talking and holding hands when Penelope came out looking for them with Derek on her heels.

“Hey buttercup!” she said addressing JJ.

“What’s up?” JJ asked, smiling at her friend.

“I don’t mean to interrupt but Derek’s ride decided he was going to stay the night so I told him I’d take him home. So do you want to go home now or?”

“I can take her home.” Emily offered, blushing at her quick response.

“You wouldn’t mind?” JJ asked.

“Not at all.”

“Well that settles that then.” Penelope said with a wave of her hand and a grin. “Let’s go lover boy. See you ladies later!”

They watched as Penelope and Derek disappeared back into the house and JJ gave the swinging bench a little shove with her foot. Emily smiled at her and they resumed talking about everything that came to mind. They laughed and joked and had more serious conversations about life after high school and the nature of the universe and before they knew it, people were starting to head home. It was with great reluctance that Emily stood up from the swinging bench and suggested they’d better get a move on too. She didn’t want the night to end and thought about seeing if JJ were hungry and they could go to one of those 24 hour diners but she reined herself in from asking, worried that she was getting clingy with someone she wasn’t even with.

JJ could tell that something was on Emily’s mind and she hoped that the brunette was going to take Derek’s advice and lay it all out there so to speak but Emily just smiled and said she’d better get her home so JJ figured she was just nervous and working up to it. The easy conversation they’d shared all night continued as they got into Emily’s car until a song JJ loved came on the radio and she turned up the volume and started singing along while dancing in her seat.

“Come on Em, don’t leave me hanging.” JJ exclaimed after noticing the other girl tapping her fingers along to the beat and mouthing the words.

Emily started to shake her head but JJ’s mood was infectious and she found herself belting the song out right along with JJ. Emily always hated her voice, her mother had always told her that she wasn’t good enough to go pro so it wasn’t a good voice but the moment she started singing, JJ stopped with a grin wide enough that it felt like it was going to split her face because JJ could sing okay but Emily had a beautiful voice and JJ was sure her eyes were turning into cartoon hearts the more she looked at the brunette.

When they pulled into JJ’s driveway, Emily cut the engine and JJ didn’t have enough time to wonder why before Emily was out of the car and opening her door clearly with every intent to walk JJ up to her front door. JJ had never swooned before but she was sure the floating feeling in her stomach and the slightly dizzy feeling in her head were exactly what that was and she smiled at Emily, grabbing her hand as they went up the front walk; JJ ignoring the look of surprise on Emily’s face.

“This is probably the best party I’ve ever been dragged to.” Emily confessed once they were in front of JJ’s door. “Well, not ‘probably’ it was.”

“Me too.” JJ says with a smile, taking Emily’s other hand in hers.

Emily looked down at their joined hands marveling at how nicely they fit together, unaware that JJ was chanting ‘just ask Em’ in her head like a mantra. But when Emily looks up again, she just kisses JJ so tenderly that the blonde felt tears well up behind her eyelids and when Emily pulls away, JJ follows her and kisses her a little more fiercely. JJ was going to let Emily do what she thought was best and maybe if she didn’t say something tonight then she would soon but as their lips touch again, JJ decides she absolutely can’t wait around for Emily to resolve her shy streak. So when they pull apart, both panting with their foreheads pressed together, JJ decides to just go for it.

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” she asked breathily. “Well, today since it’s after midnight.”

Emily leaned back a little and grinned hopefully. “Tomorrow night?”

JJ’s heart breaks a little at Emily’s response because here she is asking her out and Emily still thinks she’s not worth being seen with in the light of day so she shakes her head and quickly presses her lips to the brunette’s when her face falls. “Well yeah, tomorrow night too I guess but I was thinking more regular hours tomorrow. They’re playing that movie we were talking about wanting to see and there’s the _best_ Indian food place across the parking lot from the movie theatre. I would really love nothing more than to take you there and go see a movie after. Or the other way around, I don’t care as long as I get to see you.” JJ cut herself off from rambling by biting down on her lower lip and looking up at Emily who had a hopeful smile on her face but still looking unsure so JJ rolled her eyes and clarified as best she could. “You know, a first date? If that…if that’s okay?”

Emily isn’t sure she’s ever smiled so much in her life. “A _first_ date? As in there would be more to follow?”

“Yeah of course.” JJ said with a laugh.

“How many more?”

“Dunno if I can count that high honestly.” She admitted with a shrug.

Emily is honestly giggling when she replied, “I’d love that.”

And JJ kissed her again because now that they’d started and she _could_ it was very hard to stop. “I’ll call you when I get up and we’ll pick a time.” She assured before slipping into her house with one last kiss goodbye. Once in the house, JJ feels so wobbly-legged and blissed out that she flopped over in the armchair in the living room just grinning at the ceiling for several solid minutes before making her way upstairs to get ready for bed.

On the other side of the door, Emily was in a similar joy-drunk state. So much so that she actually felt a little inebriated and decided to walk around JJ’s block to clear her head before she got behind the wheel of her car.

JJ noticed Emily’s car pull out just as she’s tossing her dirty clothes on the window seat of her bedroom and notes with selfish pride that Emily couldn’t even drive right away. She picked up her phone and typed out a message before continuing to get ready for bed.

Emily was at a stop light when she looked down at her phone to see she had a text from JJ: _text me when you get home so I know you made it okay._ And Emily realizes JJ must have seen her car pull out but she can’t find it in herself to be embarrassed over not having been able to leave right away and continues home with a smile on her face, singing along to the radio.

By the time Emily fell into bed, she felt like it was too late to text JJ but she did anyway, knowing that if their situations were reversed, Emily wouldn’t care what time it was and it was likely that JJ had turned her phone off for the night anyway.

‘ _Got home okay,_ ’ she texted. ‘ _Just laid down for some much needed beauty sleep._ ’

Emily was surprised when her phone chimed merrily alerting her to a response almost right away.

‘ _Much needed?_ ’ it read. ‘ _Lying isn’t becoming Emily ;)_ ’

Emily grinned as she responded which ignited a full blown text conversation that only ended as the sun was peaking over the horizon because they both fell asleep. When Emily woke up that day, it was with a smile on her face despite the fact that she’d missed a doctor’s appointment on the other side of town when she’d slept through her alarm. She rolled over to pick up her phone when it started ringing next to her, checking the caller ID to see that it was JJ.

“Hey JJ.”

“Hey Em,” JJ replied with a yawn. “I only just now woke up.”

“Me too.” Emily said with a laugh.

“Oh no, really? Didn’t you have an appointment today?”

“Yeah but I don’t mind that I missed it.”

“I know you weren’t looking forward to the check up but you wanted to go to that coffee place near the doctors. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jen.”

“Well I’m sorry anyways. What time did you want to meet up?”

“Anytime, my day is open.”

“Okay, well I’ll get dressed and head over to your place then, sound good?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Emily hung up the phone feeling happier than she had in recent memory and she got out of bed to get ready for the day. She was just wandering downstairs after having showered and dressed when there was a knock on her front door. Answering the door, Emily found JJ on the other side sheepishly holding up two cups of coffee.

“It’s not from the place you like, but it’s the best I could do on short notice.” JJ admitted, holding out one of the cups for Emily to take. 

Emily smiled widely, so charmed by this girl that she could have brought complimentary hotel coffee in a Dixie cup and Emily would still have thought it was the best thing ever.


	5. Chapter 5

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Emily asked, looking up at JJ from her position on the floor.

They were spread out in JJ’s room, homework abandoned, with JJ laying on her stomach on her bed and Emily on her back on the floor. They’d been dating for four months and JJ had been subtly mentioning the fact that she had yet to meet Emily’s mother.

JJ leaned over and dangled an arm over the edge of the bed, grabbing onto one of Emily’s hands and entwining their fingers. “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, you’ve met my parents and my brothers and that went great, they love you.” JJ frowned and pulled her hand away from the brunettes. “Is that it?”

“Is what it?”

“You think your mom isn’t going to like me?”

Emily snorted and shook her head. “Babe, I don’t even think she likes _me_.”

“I’m serious.”

“I am too! My mom isn’t like your parents, but I don’t want you to think I’m ashamed of you or anything so if you really want to meet her you should come to dinner tomorrow night.”

“Really?”

Emily smiled and reached out for JJ’s hand again. “Really. I can’t promise it’s going to go well though.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“You’re a brave girl, Jennifer Jareau.”

“I’m not scared of your mom.” JJ laughed.

“There’d be no shame in it if you were; everyone is scared of her and with good reason.”

“She raised you didn’t she? How bad can she be?”

Emily scoffed and shook her head. “She didn’t raise me. I was raised by a series of nannies and housekeepers until I was old enough to be left alone and then I raised myself.”

“That’s awful, Em.” Jj said with a frown. She knew that Emily and her mother weren’t close by any stretch of the imagination and her father had left when Emily was still young and she had no contact with him but she couldn’t fathom having parents so uninvolved in her life. “Does she even know you’re gay?”

Emily chuckled and lifted their joined hands to press a kiss to the back of JJ’s hand. “I’ve been telling her since I was six. If she hasn’t gotten the message by now, that’s not my problem.”

JJ hummed and used her freehand to support her descent from the bed and onto the floor next to Emily, putting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Well I was going to say I didn’t really want to intrude on your weekly dinners with your mother, but now I feel like I should be there for moral support.”

“Trust me, I could use it.”

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Yes, but I like it when you tell me so.” Emily replied with a grin.

JJ laughed and poked Emily’s side before raising up on her elbow so she could give her girlfriend a proper kiss.

The next night, JJ’s older brother Thomas dropped her off in front of Emily’s house with a wink and obnoxious kissy faces until she flipped him the bird and he sped away laughing. JJ took a fortifying breath, not willing to admit that now that she was there she was more than a little anxious and strode up to the door to ring the doorbell. She fidgeted on the front step of the impressive looking house until the door opened to Emily’s smiling face, JJ immediately returning the gesture.

“There’s still time to back out.” Emily joked as she ushered her girlfriend inside.

“Do I really look that nervous?” JJ asked, pressing a quick kiss to Emily’s lips.

“Nah, I just wouldn’t mind an excuse to back out of a weekly dinner.”

JJ shook her head, thinking not for the first time that it was a certain kind of sad that Emily had to schedule an audience with her mother once a week to catch the woman up on what she’d been doing. She followed Emily through the house; already familiar with its layout having been there numerous times though Elizabeth had never been around. A twist of nerves sat in her stomach but she put on her brave face and entered the expansive dining room behind Emily.

Elizabeth Prentiss stood up from the table when the girls entered the room, cutting an imposing figure in a well tailored business suit making JJ feel woefully underdressed but she squared her shoulders and reached out her hand.

“You must be Emily’s friend Jennifer.” Elizabeth said, taking JJ’s hand and shaking it firmly.

JJ glanced over at Emily on the word ‘friend’ and noted that the brunette looked like she was refraining from saying something. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am.” JJ responded, plastering a warm smile on her face. “Emily’s told me so much about you.”

Elizabeth sat back down and gestured for Emily and JJ to sit down which they did, taking seats opposite each other. “Yes, well, I can hardly get Emily to speak of anything else other than how _fabulous_ you are.” She peered at JJ unemotionally. “Truthfully, I expected you to be taller.”

“Mother…” Emily said in a gentle warning tone.

“So,” Elizabeth continued as if Emily hadn’t spoken. “Where do you plan to matriculate after school, Jennifer?”

That turned out to be the opening of the most awkward dinner JJ had ever had to sit through. They made painful small talk, with Elizabeth slinging backhanded compliments like it was her mother tongue. JJ was getting more and more angry with each passing minute. It wasn’t so bad that some of those backhanded compliments and barely veiled criticisms were being directed at her—from what she knew of Emily’s mother she’d expected nothing less—but it was the casual disregard she displayed towards her daughter that was really getting to her. Didn’t this woman know that she had an amazing daughter? Emily clearly did everything in her power to appease her mother: she took honours classes, made her own money with tutoring gigs, studied and spoke three other languages fluently and was passable in two others…it was obvious that all Emily wanted to do was make her mother proud. Make her mother _notice_ her and Elizabeth seemed to be doing everything in her power to distance herself from her only child.

“So do you tutor your friend as well?” Elizabeth was saying to Emily. That was the other thing that had been bugging JJ all night. Being referred to as Emily’s ‘friend’ and watching her girlfriend field questions about nice boys at the embassy. How could someone be so willfully ignorant about their own child?

“Mother,” Emily said tersely but not impolitely, “how many times do I have to correct you? JJ is my _girlfriend_. We’ve been dating for months now.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and took an impassive sip of her wine. “Honestly Emily, I thought this whole…lesbian thing, was a phase.”

Emily frowned and didn’t move to defend herself, simply picking up her water glass to take a drink but JJ had had enough. She couldn’t stand to see Emily emotionally beaten down like that anymore.

“I can assure you,” JJ answered coolly. “She’s either a _very_ good actress, or this _isn’t_ a phase, _ma’am_.” And there was nothing untoward in her statement, but JJ knew she managed to sound exactly like she’d just told the Ambassador to fuck off and knew they knew it when Emily choked on a her water and Elizabeth visibly bristled, narrowing her gaze.

“Well, I—” Elizabeth started.

“We’re gonna go.” Emily interrupted, pushing herself away from the table without being excused and nodding to JJ to do the same.

“Yes, perhaps that is for the best.”

“Goodnight, Mother.” She took JJ by the hand and the two of them powerwalked back through the house and the front hall where Emily grabbed her keys and they left the house.

“Jesus, how can you _stand_ her?!” JJ asked as she stomped down the side walkway towards the Prentiss’ four-car garage. She stopped stalking and whirled around, suddenly very aware of what she’d just done. “Oh my god, Emily.” She said, horrified. “I’m so sorry.”

Emily laughed, tugging JJ closer and shook her head. “I love you.” She said simply. They’d never said it before then.

JJ’s expression immediately softened and she smiled shyly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Emily replied firmly.

 “I love you too.”


End file.
